‘UK could blast recession with spaceport’

Britain should have its own spaceport where satellites and travellers could be blasted into orbit, say business leaders.

Such a move would help the successful British space industry “really lift off”, according to the Institute of Directors (IoD).

Suitable locations for a spaceport could be found in Scotland, Northern Ireland or South West England, it said.

One possibility suggested was a dual purpose air and spaceport on a man-made island in the Severn Estuary. Others included lengthening the runway at an RAF base in Scotland or Northern Ireland – for instance, RAF Lossiemouth. The proposals are set out in a new IoD report, Space – Britain’s New Infrastructure Frontier, which catalogues the rapid growth of Britain’s £8 billion space sector.

“Space tourism should not be forgotten,” says the report. “Space tourists are willing to pay $200,000 (£128,415) a ticket for three hours in space. Crucially though, they will spend much longer within the vicinity of the spaceport and will no doubt have a lot of disposable income.”

A good model for a UK spaceport was the Mojave (California) Air and Space Port, the first commercial spaceport licensed by the US Federal Aviation Administration, it said.